No strangers here

While the voice wasn’t familiar, at least he spoke their tongue, and she had no fear of anyone wandering amongst the bamboo, least of all with her golden cat by her side. Perched somewhere overhead, her ibis rawked in response to Kenta’s chirrup, and Fuji measured her movements with just a little more care, placing her paws decisively on her herbs before beginning to pack those she was keeping away.

She took care to breath deeply through her nose before answering, committing the scent to memory before the face. “Over here.” Her golden eyes settled in the direction the voice had come from, her face carefully schooled into what she hoped was impassive (but maybe there was a tiny hint of a grin at the edge of one side of her face). “Even those of us born here still get turned about on occasion. It will come to you with time.” She felt an itching between her shoulder blades from behaving so proper, but first impressions were important after all.

“Speech”